Fugu Demystified

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Fugu is also known as puffer fish or blowfish because it can swell up its belly to resemble a ball when provoked. The kanji character for fugu literally translates to “river pig” because they usually congregate at the mouth of rivers.

Of the approximately 100 species of fugu found worldwide, about 38 are found in Japan and 22 species are edible. The most consumed and sought after species is the Tora fugu (takifugu rubripes) because of the high “umami taste” incomparable to the other species.

Whenever the word fugu is mentioned, the first thing that comes into ones mind is the poison.

So what makes fugu so poisonous?

The poison found in fugu is Tetrodotoxin (TTX), 1250 times deadlier than cyanide.

Fugu does not produce the toxin by themselves and the poison is believed to be from the shellfish that the fish consume in the wild. The toxin is accumulated mostly in the ovaries and the liver.

Tetrodotoxin is a powerful neurotoxin and in humans, symptoms of poisoning starts 10-15 minutes after ingestion, usually as tingling of the tongue and inner surface of the mouth . Other common symptoms include vomiting, light-headedness, dizziness and weakness. An ascending paralysis develops and death can occur within 6-24 hours by respiratory arrest. There’s no proven antidote so far most probably because the toxin has a molecular structure unlike any known so far in organic chemistry.

Commercially, there are 3 local main grades of Torafugu.

Wild caught (tennen), semi-farmed (chikuyo) and farmed (yoshouku). Wild caught torafugu is the most expensive due to the limited numbers caused by over fishing.

It is also the most toxic as earlier on I’ve explained how tetrodotoxin accumulates in the fugu from the shellfish and food that they consume in the wild.

Special care is taken when chefs gut wild caught fugu.

Semi-farmed fugu (chikuyo) is those below prime size caught in the wild but raised in pens/farms until maturity. These are usually of superior quality and they cost slightly more than the fully farmed torafugu. The phrase “Russian roulette” can be correctly applied to this type of fugu if one consumes the liver ( which is banned but highly delicious ) because no one knows how long the fugu have been out in the wild and how much toxin is accumulated as the diet is not 100% regulated .

One good example of death by the consummation of fugu liver is at January 1975 when the famous kabuki actor Mitsugoro Bando VIII died after eating 4 servings of fugu liver.

Fully farmed fugu is as safe as your next batch of Norwegian salmon.

The diet of the fugu is regulated from hatchlings to harvest, so it’s practically non-toxic. Studies taken by Japanese scientist have shown this to be true.

So how can one tell the difference between the 3 grades? There are a few pointers but the most obvious is the caudal fins. Wild caught fugu has perfect, long and straight caudal fins. Chikuyo’s still have long caudal fins but usually there are signs of damage or irregularities in the patterns. This is due to the cramped conditions in the farms. Fugu have habits of nibbling anything in sight as the teeth has to be worn down (like a mouse), other fugu caudal fins included.

Fully farmed fugu’s (yoshouku) are the lowest grade, and have stumps as their caudal fins. They are badly deformed due to the highly cramped pens that they’re raised in.

Any Japanese chefs experienced in fugu or the true Fugu connoisseur will tell you why it’s worth paying twice the amount for the gastronomic experience of the wild caught ( tennen ) fugu .

It’s about the taste, taste and taste!

And I’m not talking about just a slight difference.

As fugu is high in protein , low in calories , rich in metabolism aiding inosinic acids (the umami taste) and also with high collagen concentrations for beautiful skin, and rich in the “pick me up” organic acid taurine, it should be on your “to do” list the next time you plan a visit to Japan .

Happy cooking,

Daisuke Tanabe

Image Credit: Phil Haacked

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